Feds: Mosque, Islamic Center 'viable' targets in death ray plot

X-ray suspect allegedly went with agents to mosque, Islamic center

By Robert Gavin

Updated 12:10 pm, Friday, June 21, 2013

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN

Image 1of/6

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 6

Glendon Scott Crawford, 49, of Providence, N.Y., leaves the Federal Courthouse in shackles after a federal magistrate declined his request to set bail on Thursday afternoon, June 20, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less

Glendon Scott Crawford, 49, of Providence, N.Y., leaves the Federal Courthouse in shackles after a federal magistrate declined his request to set bail on Thursday afternoon, June 20, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (Skip ... more

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN

Image 2 of 6

Glendon Scott Crawford, 49, of Providence, N.Y., leaves the Federal Courthouse in shackles after a federal magistrate declined his request to set bail on Thursday afternoon, June 20, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less

Glendon Scott Crawford, 49, of Providence, N.Y., leaves the Federal Courthouse in shackles after a federal magistrate declined his request to set bail on Thursday afternoon, June 20, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (Skip ... more

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN

Image 3 of 6

Eric J. Feight, 54, of Stockport, N.Y., leaves the Federal Courthouse in shackles after a federal magistrate declined his request for bail on Thursday afternoon, June 20, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less

Eric J. Feight, 54, of Stockport, N.Y., leaves the Federal Courthouse in shackles after a federal magistrate declined his request for bail on Thursday afternoon, June 20, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (Skip ... more

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN

Image 4 of 6

Exterior of the Islamic Center of the Capital District on Thursday, June 20, 2013 in Colonie, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Exterior of the Islamic Center of the Capital District on Thursday, June 20, 2013 in Colonie, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Photo: Lori Van Buren

Image 5 of 6

Entrance to the Islamic Center of the Capital District on Thursday, June 20, 2013 in Colonie, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Entrance to the Islamic Center of the Capital District on Thursday, June 20, 2013 in Colonie, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

A reputed klansman from Saratoga County unwittingly took undercover FBI agents along for the ride earlier this week as he scouted out an Albany mosque and Islamic center in Schenectady as "viable target" locations in an elaborate terror plot to eradicate Muslims with X-ray radiation, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Glendon Scott Crawford, 49, of Providence, then took the undercover agents to a garage in Schaghticoke on Tuesday where he allegedly assembled what he believed to be a lethal device capable of silently slaughtering intended victims. He powered the device and determined it was operable — but before he could attach a remote control to trigger it, agents arrested him, prosecutors said.

"He did everything except one thing — and that is to flip the switch," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Green said at a detention hearing Thursday for Crawford and his co-defendant, Eric J. Feight, 54, of the Columbia County town of Stockport.

Green said Crawford did not attempt to use the weapon at that time because he feared radiation. Crawford was arrested at the location, Feight later at his home.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Christian Hummel detained both men after hearing arguments from their lawyers and Green. The judge said he could not find a more compelling example of defendants who pose a possible danger to the community. He also classified them as flight risks.

Related Stories

The hearing came one day after Crawford, an alleged member of the Northern & Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and Feight were arraigned in U.S. District Court on allegations they conspired to build the device Crawford described as "Hiroshima on a light switch" to kill enemies, such as Muslims, they described as "medical waste."

Court papers allege Crawford approached two local Jewish groups in April 2012 hoping to "speak with a person who might be willing to help him with a type of technology that could be used by Israel to defeat its enemies, specifically, by killing Israel's enemies while they slept."

Instead, they called Albany police who, in turn, called in the FBI. A 14-month undercover terror investigation was under way with surveillance, wiretaps and agents posing as conspirators.

Crawford brought at least two undercover agents to the Albany mosque, which was not identified, on Monday night. He then brought them to the Islamic center in Schenectady on Tuesday before heading over to the garage in Schaghticoke, prosecutors said.

Crawford's alleged scouting of the locations surfaced at the detention hearing and was not included in a detailed affidavit released with the criminal complaint against Crawford and Feight.

If convicted of providing material support to terrorists, the defendants could face 15 years in prison.

Crawford, a native of Burnt Hills who works at General Electric as a manufacturing employee, allegedly recruited Feight to help him with the design and construction of the device. Feight, a General Electric vendor, met Crawford last year through their association through the company, authorities said.

Assistant Federal Public Defender George Baird, the attorney for Feight, argued to the judge that under federal guidelines his client could face no more than 2 to 2 1/2 years behind bars. He said his client, who operates industrial machinery, simply goes to work and goes home.

Kevin Luibrand, the court-appointed attorney for Crawford, argued to the judge his client was not a flight risk — and had been free since April 2012 when the FBI first discovered the alleged plot.

"The government kept them on the street for 14 months," Luibrand said, arguing that federal authorities would have arrested the defendants earlier if they believed the men to be a threat to public safety.

Prosecutors say the device was intended to be capable of being placed in a van and emitting X-ray radiation at people the defendants wanted to injure or kill, but who would not even know that they had been harmed from the radiation until days after they were victimized.

More Information

On Wednesday, several experts told the Times Union they disputed the feasibility of creating such a lethal, mobile weapon with off-the-shelf parts.

After Thursday's detention hearing, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney John Duncan told reporters outside court that federal authorities, after conferring with their own experts, believe the device was viable and deadly. Still, federal authorities said the public was never in danger because their FBI-led team became aware of the plot early on and was continually monitoring the situation.

Duncan said once Crawford powered up the device and was about to attach the remote control trigger, "the FBI said 'this is close enough' " and arrested him.

He said prosecutors are refraining from even providing a description of the device because they do not want a like-minded copycat.

"This isn't something out of Buck Rogers," he said. "This is something far more serious than that."